School of Medicine
Showing 121-139 of 139 Results
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Ranak Trivedi
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health and Population Sciences)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEnhancing the role of informal caregivers in chronic disease self-management; assessment and treatment of mental illness in primary care settings; psychosocial antecedents and consequences of cardiovascular disease.
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Nina Vasan, MD, MBA
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAt Brainstorm: The Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation, we lead the way in digital well-being: translating cutting-edge research into practical solutions for healthier tech use.
We are first and foremost practicing physicians; we treat patients and families. Then, grounded by the foundational oath in medicine to “do no harm,” we help companies build products that prioritize user health with responsibility and care. Our work has shaped platforms used by millions—helping Pinterest design "compassionate search", guiding TikTok in healthy screen-time management, and partnering with ML Commons to establish the first mental health safety benchmarks for large language models (LLMs).
Brainstorm is further committed to “do good” by leveraging these technologies to build a healthier digital world. We advised Dove’s Self-Esteem Project and Real Beauty Prompt Playbook, which studied AI’s impact on beauty and set new digital standards of representation. Additionally, after sharing the results of research conducted with the Stanford Center for AI Safety on the ethics, efficacy, and safety of LLMs providing mental health support, we developed the “Framework for Healthy AI” to guide industry best practices in AI product innovation.
As we apply this expertise to improve users' daily lives, it’s clear that addressing digital intimacy presents unique challenges compared to traditional human relationships. This technology is still emerging, and we are all adapting to it in real-time as it evolves. The big question is: How can we help users cultivate healthy, safe digital relationships?
After seeing success with the Stanford Social Media Safety Plan, which reduced harmful digital behaviors among users, we are now designing the Stanford GenAI Psychological Safety Plan (GPS). The Stanford GPS is a tool to help individuals, tech developers, and policymakers navigate this new terrain and make informed decisions about AI’s role in mental health.
Check out the start of the Stanford GPS in Fortune: This 4-question quiz from Stanford psychiatrists can help protect from the dangers of AI. -
Bo Dehm Wicklund
Affiliate, Psych/Public Mental Health & Population Sciences
BioClinical Research Coordinator- NEAT Lab (Dr. Michelle R. Madore)
University of Connecticut
B.A. Psychology, Minor Cognitive Science -
Shannon Wiltsey Stirman
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health and Population Sciences)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe overarching goal of my program of research is to determine how to facilitate access to evidence-based psychosocial interventions (EBPs) in community and public sector mental health settings. Areas of emphasis include training and consultation, treatment fidelity and adaptation, AI and digital mental health interventions, and the identification of strategies that promote sustained implementation of EBPs.
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Helen J. Wood
Affiliate, Psych/Public Mental Health & Population Sciences
BioDr. Helen Wood (she/her) is a clinical psychologist licensed in Vermont and Pennsylvania. She works for INSPIRE training and is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Vermont, Department of Psychological Science. Dr. Wood was previously the psychologist for outpatient psychosis services, including a first-episode psychosis service, at an academic medical center in southwest Pennsylvania, where she led CBTp implementation. She has worked as program director for an adult psychosis inpatient unit, as well as in outpatient services in the US and in the UK’s National Health Service. She co-chairs the North American CBTp Network’s early psychosis working group. Dr. Wood values collaboration with people bringing lived experience knowledge to clinical, training, and research contexts. Dr. Wood’s clinical and research interests focus on understanding the experience of psychosis and improving services and/or other forms of support. Dr. Wood has a BA Hons in History, Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Experimental Psychology from the University of Sussex, and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Canterbury Christ Church University, all in the UK.
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Jerome Yesavage
Jared and Mae Tinklenberg Professor and Professor, by courtesy, of Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study cognitive processes and aging in our research center. Studies range from molecular biology to neuropsychology of cognitive processes.
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Jong H. Yoon
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health & Population Sciences)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research seeks to discover the brain mechanisms responsible for schizophrenia and to translate this knowledge into the clinic to improve how we diagnose and treat this condition. Towards these ends, our group has been developing cutting-edge neuroimaging tools to identify neurobiological abnormalities and test novel systems-level disease models of psychosis and schizophrenia directly in individuals with these conditions.
We have been particularly interested in the role of neocortical-basal ganglia circuit dysfunction. A working hypothesis is that some of the core symptoms of schizophrenia are attributable to impairments in neocortical function that results in disconnectivity with components of the basal ganglia and dysregulation of their activity. The Yoon Lab has developed new high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging methods to more precisely measure the function of basal ganglia components, which given their small size and location deep within the brain has been challenging. This includes ways to measure the activity of nuclei that store and control the release of dopamine throughout the brain, a neurochemical that is one of the most important factors in the production of psychosis in schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric conditions. -
Yu Zhang
Assistant Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health and Population Sciences)
BioDr. Yu Zhang's research operates at the intersection of AI, translational neuroscience, and precision medicine. His work focuses on unraveling the complex neurobiological mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits, behavioral dysfunctions, and therapeutic responses in mental health disorders. By integrating advanced machine learning techniques with multimodal brain imaging modalities (e.g., fMRI, DTI, EEG), Dr. Zhang aims to identify neural signatures that reveal the heterogeneity of mental disorders across individuals. A central goal of his research is the development and validation of robust neurobiomarkers to improve diagnostic accuracy, refine prognostic assessments, and guide personalized treatment strategies. His work systematically characterizes brain function and dysfunction to optimize therapeutic interventions, including pharmacological treatments, psychotherapy, and neurostimulation. He is particularly focused on conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and related dimentia, mood disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., ADHD, ASD), where individualized approaches are essential for improving patient outcomes.
Dr. Zhang has received several grants including the R01, R21, and Alzheimer's Association AARG grant. Beyond foundational research, Dr. Zhang is committed to bridging the gap between computational innovation and clinical application. By collaborating with clinicians, neuroscientists, and engineers, he strives to translate data-driven insights into actionable tools for real-world healthcare settings. His long-term vision is to enable mental health diagnostics and treatment to be guided by objective, biologically grounded biomarkers, thereby enhancing quality of life and long-term outcomes for individuals with psychiatric and neurological conditions.
The Stanford Precision NeuroIntelligence (SPNI) Lab, led by Dr. Zhang, is dedicated to advancing research in AI-driven neuroimaging and precision psychiatry. The lab develops and applies cutting-edge machine learning and deep learning methods to uncover neurobiological mechanisms associated with cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions, as well as treatment responses in mental health conditions. Its mission is to identify translational biomarkers that support precision diagnosis, prognosis, and targeted interventions for mood disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. -
Lindsey Zimmerman
Affiliate, Psych/Public Mental Health & Population Sciences
BioLindsey Zimmerman, PhD, is a Clinical and Community Psychologist, and Implementation Scientist at the National Center for PTSD, Dissemination and Training Division of the Veterans Health Administration.
Dr. Zimmerman is principal investigator of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Veterans Health Administration (VA) research that enlists participatory system dynamics to increase timely patient access to evidence-based pharmacotherapy and evidence-based psychotherapy for depression, PTSD, alcohol and opioid use disorder. See https://mtl.how/team
Active NIH Grants
Participatory System Dynamics vs Audit and Feedback: A Cluster Randomized Trial of Mechanisms Of Implementation Change to Expand Reach of Evidence-Based Addiction and Mental Health Care (R01DA046651)
The most common reasons Veterans seek VA addiction and mental health care is for help with opioid and alcohol misuse, depression and PTSD. Research evidence has established highly effective treatments that prevent relapse, overdose and suicide, but even with policy mandates, performance metrics, and electronic health records to fix the problem, these treatments may only reach 3-28% of patients. This study tests participatory business engineering methods to better meet the addiction and mental health needs of Veterans and the U.S. population.
Participatory System Dynamics for Evidence-Based Addiction and Mental Healthcare (R21DA042198)
Limited access and delays to high-quality, evidence-based mental health and addiction treatments can lead to patients getting too little or ineffective care and contribute to chronic patient impairment, relapse, and death by suicide or overdose. This study evaluates a system for resolving problems with patient flow and organization in health care systems, using electronic medical record systems and a high-level of input from healthcare leadership, frontline providers and patients.
Active VA Grants
Participatory System Dynamics vs Usual Quality Improvement: Is Staff Use of Simulation an Effective, Scalable and Affordable Way to Improve Timely Veteran Access to High-quality Mental Health Care? (I01HX002521)
Participatory system dynamics (PSD) helps improve quality with existing resources, critical in mental health and all VA health care. PSD uses learning simulations to improve staff decisions, showing how goals for quality can best be achieved given local resources and constraints. We aim to significantly increase the proportion of patients who start and complete evidence-based care, and determine the costs of using PSD for improvement.
National Responsibilities
2019 National Institutes of Health, Center for Scientific Review
Community Influences on Health Behavior (CIHB) Study Section
2019-present VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI)
QUERI/Health Services Research & Development, Scientific Merit Review Committee
2019-present Emory University
Prolonged Exposure Consultant Training Program Advisory Board
2018-present National Institutes of Health
Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (TIDIRH)
Mental Health Faculty Mentor
2015-2017 National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program
National Institute of Mental Health Clinical Research Review Committee
Teaching Responsibilities
Quality Improvement and Systems of Care Competencies
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Residency, Stanford University School of Medicine & VA Palo Alto Health Care System
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program Seminar
VA Palo Alto research centers of the National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD), Center for Innovation to Implementation (Ci2i), Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Care (MIRECC), and War-related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC).
Open Science Resources for the Modeling to Learn Simulation Learning Program are available on GitHub at https://mtl.how and https://mtl.how/demo
